Always
by HauntedMoonlight
Summary: And she finally understood that 'could' didn't mean 'would,' and that shooting stars disappeared before you could even make a wish. But that didn't mean you couldn't try. SasuSaku OneShot


**A/N: **Okay, so recently I might've taken a turn for the dramatic and tragic aspects of my stories.

But this has a happy ending, I promise, because they totally deserve a happy ending. And because I hate sad things, ugh.

**Title: **Always

**Summary: **And she finally understood that 'could' didn't mean 'would,' and that shooting stars disappeared before you could even make a wish. But that didn't mean you couldn't try. SasuSaku

**Rating: **T for some drama and darkness.

**Pairing: **SasuSaku, of course!

**Warnings/Notes: **None, I think.

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, who should totally make SasuSaku canon because face it, they're meant to be!

_Read and Review!_

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"Sasuke."

"Sakura."

The dark-haired man's face was hidden in the shadows, but Sakura could still picture his expression. His indifferent poker face and emotionless, hard eyes. Eyes that she so badly wanted to see filled with love.

Even she knew an impossible thing when she saw it. But that didn't mean she couldn't try.

"What do you want?" He hissed quietly. Did she even realize her stupidity? She was alone in the middle of a dark forest standing, unarmed, behind him.

"You," she replied earnestly.

He chuckled bitterly. "Do you have a death wish?"

Her eyes were dreamy, as if staring into an alternate dimension. Into a '_what could've been'_. What could've been, but wasn't.

And she finally understood that 'could' didn't mean 'would,' and that shooting stars disappeared before you could even make a wish.

"Come with me," she whispered. Her voice was hollow, broken, even to her.

"Why should I go back to Konoha? So all those ignorant flocks of sheep can point and stare at me?" He sneered. "'_Oh look, it's the last Uchiha!'_" He mimicked, blood boiling. Dammit, if Sakura knew what was good for her…

But she didn't know what was good for her, that was the problem. She loved him, and that fact alone escaped all senses of rationality.

"Not to Konoha," she breathed shakily.

He paused. Not to Konoha? "What—"

"I defected, Sasuke." His name on her lips sent reluctant chills crawling up his spine. It wasn't the words so much as the emotion behind her words. Love, uncertainty, hope. Hope that he so hated to destroy. But destroy it he would. He always did, in the end. "As of last night, I'm a missing-nin."

He didn't reply. How could someone be so…dumb? Why would someone go to such lengths for him? He didn't deserve a single strand of her soft, beautiful hair, much less all of her huge, loving heart.

What frightened him was that he was really considering it. A life with Sakura in an obscure village far from Konoha and all their petty worries, little Uchiha brats running around…

No. He couldn't. Never would he risk losing something precious again. Even if it meant the death of his eventual happiness, so be it. He was an avenger, a killer. He could never be what she wanted him to be.

"Go, Sakura. You still have a chance at life." A chance to be happy, even if without him.

"So do you, dammit!"

Her sudden outburst surprised him. The mild, love-sick Sakura of the past would never yell at him. But she wasn't the mild, love-sick Sakura of the past.

If only she were, it would be just that much easier.

She continued, getting angrier with every heated word that crossed her lips. "Stop giving me all this bullshit! You're done with your revenge, okay? So what are you going to do with the rest of your life? Mope around thinking about what could've been? Or are you going to take revenge on Konoha now, is that right?"

He scowled. She had no right reading his mind.

"You…you're hopeless, Sasuke." She mumbled sadly. "It's not that you can't love…it's that you don't want to. And that, Sasuke, makes all the difference."

In a whirl, she was pinned against a tree, staring blatantly into a pair of furious onyx eyes, a sword at her throat.

"What do you know?" He hissed venomously. "_What do you know_?"

She stood stock-still. "I'm right, aren't I?"

He didn't answer, just pushed the sword the tiniest bit forward so that a small line of crimson appeared on her flawless neck.

"You're _scared_, Sasuke. You're scared to lose it all again. You're too scared to love, because you think that the moment you let someone in, they'll be gone forever."

Slowly, cautiously, she reached up and placed her palm on his trembling cheek. "It's okay, you know? It's okay to let it all out sometimes, to just cry and love and cry some more."

He couldn't. He wouldn't. How could he break down in front of her? How could she be so soft, so gentle? He'd caused her so much pain…

How could she be so willing to forgive and forget, when he still wasn't able to ten years later?

But then he remembered his mother and her lovingly-packed bento lunches, his father and his strict, appraising glance and rare smiles. He remembered the old man, Kenji, who sold groceries at the corner and how Kenji would always save a few candies for him on his way to and from school.

He remembered Itachi and those oh-so-fun journeys they set on together, throwing kunais aimlessly and laughing.

He remembered the way his father's eyes—eyes that were always so hard and cold—softened when they looked at his mother, his always smiling and happy and beautiful mother.

And he suddenly realized that maybe it was okay to remember everything that he had so stubbornly locked away for years and years. That maybe their memories would _carry_ him through the hard times instead of burden him.

Shuddering, he removed the sword and tossed it aside.

The tiniest drop of liquid rolled down his cheek as he pulled her into his arms.

"Stay with me," he breathed. "Please."

He couldn't live without her anymore, it hurt to even try.

She was shaking in his arms, but it was a happy sort of shaking, and she looked up at him with her emerald eyes sparkling with unshed tears and unspoken promises.

"Always."

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**A/N: **It's really short and I was about to include it in my DrabbleSeries, **Blossoms **(which you should totally check out) but I really enjoyed writing this and wanted to put it separately so more people can see it, hopefully.

If you liked, feel free to check out my other stories!

**EDIT: **_I made a few changes shortly after posting it and just tried to perfect it as much as possible without taking from the storyline. _

I'm not too much of a review-whore (I hope), but please review. They just make my day and remind me of what I'm writing for.

So yeah, review!

Thanks!

~**Haunted**_Moonlight_~


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